Pragg needs to cope with expectations, says Vishy

Chennai: Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand said that he was impressed with Praggnanandhaa's speed and ability to grasp.

"For him the most helathy thing is to play a lot. That is the only way he will understand what he needs to do to get better," he said speaking at a function where the 12-year old Praggnanandhaa, India's youngest Grandmaster was felicitated for his feat.

Anand described Praggnanandhaa's achievement as a fantastic one. "In the chess community everyone was following his quest and I had to answer a lot of questions about him and also there was a lot of pressure on him before achieving the feat and I am happy that he became a Grandmaster quickly afterwards. I became a grandmaster when I was 18 and to achieve it six years earlier is something special ," he said.

"Now suddenly there is too much weight on his shoulders and he will need to cope with all the expectations from now. My only advice to him is not to put too much pressure on himself and not to see this as something for the next year but to see it as a journey for the next decade atleast. Because for a lot of his goals to get accomplished he needs atleast a decade," he said.

Praggnanandhaa will next take part in a tournament at Leon, Spain on 5 July. "When I became a grandmaster I did not take part in a single norm for sometime again because once you achieve your goal you do not know what to do with yourself but for Pragg it is important to go out and enjoy playing at the tournament and not think too much about the expectations because it is a strong field having some of the big names playing," he said.

Few days back Praggnanandhaa visited Anand at his residence after winning the title. "I was very happy that he visited me a couple of days back. We were just analysing the game and I fugured out that he is good in his middle game but has to improve his opening game," he said. Praggnanandhaa said that his aim is to enjoy playing the game and improve his rating.

Earlier during the event Praggnanandhaa also showcased his Blindfold simultaneous chess display and enthralled the audience.

He was awarded a cash award of three lakhs by Microsense, a sponsor of several chess talents including Praggnanandhaa.